Florence is HIV + and was evicted from her land while raising a 16, 14 and 9 year old. It’s been tough going. Living in Nakawa district in Uganda is not easy. It’s a poor area with a lot of people living there originally from the North who were, like Florence, displaced by the civil war. While things are changing, poverty, mental health issues, higher HIV infection rates are still prevalent.

Needy Support Centre, a core partner of the CAP/AIDS Network,  identified Florence as a community member in need and have since engaged her in a number of their programs. She has received training in HIV prevention, and how to live well positively. She was supported, as well, to increase her economic well-being and has since expanded her  maize crop and started a bag making business. She was awarded a much coveted bicycle which means she can take her crops and her bags to market. Now, she says – I can run my family. The sales from her bags and additional crop income goes into education for her and her children. Thanks to community partner Needy Support Centre and the impacts of Canadian-African partnerships new possibilities for thriving keep emerging.